Walk Like an Egyptian
by Writer25
Summary: In an attempt to gain the advice and wisdom of past princess, Joleena makes a trip to Egypt to visit Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt. When she accidentally brings Joe and his friends along, a secret is exposed that Joe wanted to keep a secret. Mad Jack also enlists one of the most dangerous older sisters in history to get him The Book in exchange for a powerful amulet.
1. Chapter 1

The dark figure clutched his staff and waited impatiently for the answer. Tryphaena waited for her servant to pour her more wine though before even looking back at him. When she did look at him though, even he had to repress a shudder of fear. She had eyes of a snake and now used them to shoot venom at him.

"I said," the figure repeated, struggling to hide his irritation. "Do we have an understanding?"

"Hmm," the woman took her time picking out a fig, turning it over, and then putting it back.

"_Must I remind you,_" the figure said angrily. "That you have _another _sister younger than you who will be willing to take the throne and _another_ sister even younger that's destine to rule all Egypt! Now, would you like to be bypassed for your _little sister_?"

Tryphaena jumped up angrily and the servants visibly cowarded behind her in fear. The figure however, merely tapped his staff making glow a dangerous green. The woman didn't shrink back though, she just raised her eyebrow in an amused expression.

"So you're not just some strange man then." she said with a smirk. "Alright then, if I get what you want, then you must get me what I want."

Mad Jack sighed inwardly in relief, but stood with a triumphant smirk on his face. "I just knew you'd see things my way."


	2. Chapter 2

Joleena yawned and tied her hair up, getting ready for bed. On the way to her bed though she felt a sudden chill.

"That's weird," Joleena yawned. "I don't remember leaving that window open."

As she knelt on the window sill to close it however, she heard a familiar chuckle coming from her bed.

"Nice night gown," Joe chuckled sitting on her bed.

"Oh, shut up!" Joleena blushed. The nightgown he was referring to was almost nearly transparent just came down to her knees. It was actually as close to lingerie as her father would let her even get near let alone buy.

Joe's smile grew as he watched her. " And matching furry peach slippers? Cute."

Joleena stuck her tongue at Joe and walked over to sit with him on the bed. He pulled her closer to him and she sighed, tracing his now muscular arms.

"What's on your mind?" He asked gently.

"Nothing much." She said quietly. "Just planning a little trip for us to take."

"Us as in you and me?"

Joleena raised an eyebrow at the hopeful tone in Joe's voice.

"Why? Planning a romantic getaway for us?"

Joe gave his new slightly seductive chuckle again and pulled her down onto the bed to lie down next to him. "Yeah, I was planning on using The Book and warping us to France."

"Knowing you, you would probably warp us right in the middle of the French Revolution." she smirked.

Joe laughed at that and rolled over so that he was facing her. "You have to admit I am getting better."

"I know." Joleena smiled. "You're getting better at a lot of things."

She had meant sparing with San-Li and magic in general, but the way Joe was looking at her she could tell he thought she meant something else. Before she could explain what she meant though Joe shifted and started kissing her. Deeply. More deeply than when they first got back together at the ball. She was both happily surprised and nervous. Even though she was good at getting and maintaining guys' attention, she never really got physical with them. She started to wrap her arms around his neck, but stopped herself.

"Um, Joe?" She whispered when he started kissing her neck.

"Hmm?"

"Maybe we shouldn't be doing this?" She said and added when she saw his face fall. "If my dad or one of the maids caught us like this, you wouldn't live long enough to see the sunrise."

Joe smiled and gave a short flick of his wrist. The curtains of Joleena's canopy bed closed, enveloping them in a hazy, rose shadow.

"There," Joe kissed her softly and smiled. "Happy now?"

"Um, well..."

But before Joleena had a chance to explain that that wasn't necessarily the problem, Joe sighed in content and moved again so that he was once again lying next to her with about an inch of space between them.

"So why are you planning a trip?" he asked suddenly.

"Trip?" Joleena said blankly still slightly dazed by his attention moments earlier.

Joe laughed. "You know, the trip that you said you were planning. What's the occasion?"

"Oh that." Joleena shrugged. "It's nothing important."

XXXX

When the phone rang San-Li nearly ran over Alex in a hurry to answer it hoping and dreading who it might be.

"Its me." A voice whispered on the other end.

"Joleena." San-Li's heart sank. "What do you need? I'm busy."

"Oh." Joleena's voice became sympathetic. "Sam's still not talking to you?"

"What do you need?" San-Li said tensely.

"Look," Joleena sighed. "Please don't ask why, but I need you to do me a favor and get The Book for me."

"Couldn't you just ask your little Warp Wizard to get it for you?"

Joleena was silent for a minute before answering. "I don't want him to know about it alright. There's something that I want to take care of without Joe knowing."

Any other time San-Li would have been intrigued, but all she had felt was a deep weariness. Now she was upstairs in Joe's room rifling through his things. She was actually so deep lost in her thoughts that she forgot herself and brushed against The Book by accident. There was a small, green explosion and she clutched her hand in pain.

"Crap." She swore. There was a large burn on the side of her hand. She laughed bitterly under her breath. "So I guess that means the ban is still active."

Regardless she pulled out a shoulder bag and a pair of tongs. Just as she started to leave the room though she bumped into a little... obstacle.

"Um," Anna glared at her with one raised eyebrow. "What are you doing in my brother's room?"

"Pfft, inventory," San-Li scoffed pushing past her.

"Uh," Anna grabbed the strap of the shoulder bag, stopping her. "Not with The Book you're not."

San-Li smirked and leaned down closer to her. "Look kid, I really don't want to get into a fight right now so... step out of my way. Okay, little girl?"

Instead of backing down though, Anna blocked her path and crossed her arms stubbornly. San-Li smiled at her coldly, a look that would frighten most grown men, but Anna merely raised an eyebrow.

"If you don't leave right now I'll start screaming." She threatened.

San-Li chuckled and whispered. "I bet I can bruise your windpipe before you finish exhaling."

Right when Anna started to draw in a breath though, a new voice spoke from the doorway.

"Just WHAT do you two think you are doing in my room!?" Joe said angrily from the doorway.

Anna held up her hands in defense. "Hey, I was just on my way to my room when I heard someone in your room and went to investigate. _She's _the one trying to steal your book."

Joe took a deep, angry breath and yelled over his shoulder. _"Joleena!"_

"What, what, what?" Joleena bounded up the stairs behind Joe, but when she caught sight of San-Li she tried walking away.

"Not so fast." Joe said grabbing the back of her blouse. "I know you put her up to this."

"Moi?" Joleena raised an eyebrow. "Now why would I do something like that?"

"I don't know, that's what I want to find out."

"Just what are you accusing me of?"

"I'm not accusing, I already know that you're behind this. What I want to know is why."

"Why what?"

"Why would you have San-Li steal my book?"

"What makes you think I told her to do it?"

Their voices rose as they continued arguing and soon there was the sound of more footsteps. Fred came in followed by Fina and Sam.

"What is going on up here?" Fred asked carrying a basketball. "Me and Sam just came here to see if Joe wanted to play some ball and all of you are up here yelling."

Joe took a breath and grabbed Joleena by the shoulders.

"Now tell me the truth," he said in a low voice. "Why were you trying to get The Book without me knowing?"

Joleena sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Look, I needed to visit a friend of mine to get some advice and I didn't want you to worry. My friend lived in a bit of a troubling time."

Joe sighed and let go of her. "Why didn't you just tell me that?"

"Well..."

"Um, helloooo?" Fred interrupted. "You two kissed and made up. Can we play ball now?"

"Actually, I think we should go and help Joleena out." Joe said wrapping his arm around Joleena's shoulder.

"Oh, no. That won't be necessary." Joleena said quickly.

"Are you kidding me?" Joe laughed taking the bag away from San-Li. "We're your friends."

"But I really don't need help with this." Joleena said taking the bag and pulling The Book out.

"Wait a minute," Joe frowned and took The Book back. "Why don't you want us to come with you?"

"Who said I didn't?"

"You didn't say it, but you act like it."

The back and forth continued until they were actually wrestling for The Book like Anna and Joe usually did. All the while Joleena tried to key in where she wanted to warp in an attempt to warp without Joe, while at the same time Joe tried to keep hold of it before they warped. Suddenly, The Book slipped out of both of their hands and landed on the floor.

"Now you to have done it." Anna said rolling her eyes.

Joleena groaned inwardly and the last thing she saw before being sucked through the mist was Joe's suspicious glare.


	3. Chapter 3

They landed in a pile of burning sand at the edge of a large city. In the distance they could see the reflection of water.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Fred yelled hoping from one foot to another even though he was wearing sneakers. "Geez! Why is it that we always land in the worst places?"

"At least we didn't land in the middle of the desert." Joleena pointed out the city in the distance. "That should be Alexandria if I'm not mistaken."

"Alexandria as in Alexandria, Egypt?" Sam asked helping Fina up. "What are we doing here?"

"Yeah, Joleena," Joe gave her a significant look. "What are we doing here?"

Joleena groaned and shook the sand out of her hair. "We're here to visit Cleopatra, okay?

"Cleopatra?" Anna perked up. "You mean _the _Cleopatra?"

"The last pharaoh of Egypt huh?" Sam mumbled thoughtfully. "So we must be around 55-57 B.C?"

Joleena nodded. "That's right. Now, if we want access to the palace you guys are going to have to do exactly what I say."

Fred rolled his eyes at her. "And why is it that you get to call the shots?"

Joleena shot him a look and he scoffed, but quieted down.

"As I was saying," Joleena continued. "I'll be royalty from some foreign visiting Egypt in order to pledge loyalty and blah, blah, blah and you guys will play my servants."

"And," she added when Fred began to protest. "My loyal bodyguards."

"And what about Fina?" San-Li said. "You know how these Egyptians go for the blond hair, blue eyes type. They may prefer her being the princess not you."

"I can transform into something." Fina said quickly. "A dog, or a horse, or something."

"You know the ancient Egyptians revered cats." Sam put in helpfully. "Maybe a leopard or a lioness or something like that."

Instantly Fina transformed herself into a lioness and they all set off towards the city. Joe thought that it would be a little more difficult convincing an entire palace that Joleena was royalty with no one but six teens her age as escorts, but Joleena had this sort of... presence that made it hard to doubt that she was anything but royalty.

They were greeted first by the guards and after Joleena convinced them they led her into a large room with marble pillars and a throne. Several musicians were playing music on the side. Sitting on the throne with about a dozen servants around her was a tall woman with smoldering dark eyes, and long brown hair. When the woman saw them she angrily signaled the musicians to stop playing.

"All hail the princess Joleena!" The guards announced.

"Princess?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "Just what business do you have here?"

"Only to pay my respects and hopefully forge an alliance with the great and powerful Egypt." Joleena said smoothly.

"Is that so?" the woman's eyes narrowed.

"A princess?" An excited voice interrupted. "Tryphaena!"

From a side entrance a woman bounded in. She looked like she was only a couple of years younger than Tryphaena, but looked ten times friendlier.

She smiled at Joleena. "Tryphaena! Stop being rude and invite her to stay with us!"

"Bernice!" Tryphaena said sharply.

Bernice shank back a from Joleena and grinned shyly at Tryphaena. "Please? Please can they stay with us?"

Tryphaena glared at them for what seemed like forever. Even though everyone including Bernice starting to cringe Joleena stood firm and San-Li stood ready in case the guards were called on them. Finally though, Tryphaena shrugged and gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Let them stay." She said and walked out of the throne room, servants scurrying behind her.

XXXXXX

"Do you like it?!" Bernice bounded into the suite in front of the head servant. "Do you like your rooms?"

The suite was large with a room in the front that held a couch and two sleeping mats for the servants, double doors that led to a master bedroom, and a side room that held a marble bathroom.

"They're beautiful." Joleena smiled "Thank you."

Bernice smiled harder and looked like she wanted to say more, but just then a servant touched her elbow and whispered something in her ear. Bernice clapped her hands gleefully and even squealed a little.

"Oh! I almost forgot, there's a banquet later tonight." she grabbed Joleena's hands. "I have to go get ready ready now, but you absolutely _must _come. Will you come? Please?"

Joleena laughed and nodded. "Okay. Okay. I'll come."

"Do we really have to go?" Fred whined after Bernice and the servants left.

"You _don't _want to go where there's free food?" Joe asked skeptically.

"Its not that," Fred flopped onto the couch and started to pet Fina's head. "It's just that the last time I went to one of these they put of bunch of make up on me and this weird toga/dress thingy."

Joe laughed and sat on the couch. "But don't you remember Fred? You said that that was what all the kings were wearing."

"You made them think you were a king?" Joleena laughed. "Not bad, your almost as good as me."

"I remember that warp." Anna bounced onto the couch next to Joe. "That was fun."

There was a timid knocking on the door and servants came in carrying robes, jewelry, and make up. They shooed the guys out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"So I guess its just us guys huh?" Fred said with a nervous laugh.

Sam shot him one cold dirty look and walked away. Joe sighed and walked after him.

Fred sighed and lagged behind them. "Oh come on. How long are going to stay mad at me?"

"You kissed his girlfriend, dude." Joe said putting his hand on Sam's shoulder. "That was messed up."

"I know it was," Fred hung his head ashamed. "I told you I was sorry. If I could take it back I would."

Sam swung around and glared at Fred. "Well you can't take it back, okay? You ruined my trust and my relationship and you can't take that back!"

"I know okay? I know." Fred said starting to loose his temper. "I know I ruined your perfect little relationship, okay? I'm sorry but... but she did like me first."

"So what's that supposed to mean?" Sam looked surprised but kept ranting. "You lost your chance with her because you were too _stupid_ to care!"

In a split second before Joe could even react Fred's fist shot out and grabbed Sam by the collar who glared hatred at Fred. Joe started to try and distangle them when a door opened down the hallway and footsteps walked toward them.

"What in the heavens is going on here?"

Joe glanced over his shoulder. Standing in front them with her arms crossed was a girl who only looked about a year older than they were. Even though she wasn't what you would call extremely beautiful, she was good looking and had an air of confidence that was hard to ignore. Fred glanced over at her too and with a small shove let go of Sam's collar.

"I'm really sorry miss," Joe placated smiling. "You see, my friends and I..."

His voice trailed off as he spotted another figure coming out of the same room the first girl came out of. She was wearing the same clothes as the first girl and had on a lot of make up, but there was no mistaking who she was.

"_Jodie?" _


	4. Chapter 4

Joe stared at Jodie in stunned silence. His mind raced frantically. _Oh no no no no no. _He thought. _She can't be here. Joleena can't know about her._ He didn't really know why, but he knew that he absolutely did not want his girlfriend knowing about his great, great granddaughter. The other girl cleared her throat.

"Jodie," the girl turned towards her. "Do you know these boys?"

"Unfortunately," Jodie a sighed and rolled her eyes. "Cleopatra, this is Joe, Fred, and Sam."

Cleopatra looked them over for a second before finally smiling and nodded at them. "Then you are welcome here."

"Thanks."

"Come," Cleopatra held out her hand to Joe. "I'll have my servants help you get ready for the banquet."

"Oh, no no no." Fred shook his head nervously as she started to led them to her room. "We don't need any of that. We're all ready to go."

"Oh don't be such a baby." Jodie laughed grabbing his arm and Sam's. "It'll be fun."

"Pfft, yeah for you."

Cleopatra and Jodie made them sit down on the couch where servants brought out basins of water and started washing their feet, hands, and faces. After they were done with that they led them into separate areas of the room and gave them white silk robes to wear. When they were finally ready Cleo threaded her arm through Joe's and led them out to the banquet hall with Jodie following behind with Sam and Fred.

* * *

"Okay, so what's going on between you two?" Jodie said in a low whisper.

"Um, what do you mean?" Fred said nervously. "Nothing's going on."

Sam was silent before finally realizing that Jodie was staring at him. "Yeah. Sure."

"Puh-lease." Jodie rolled her eyes. "This is me you're trying to fool remember? And I can plainly see that you two are fighting about something. Now what is it!?"

Before either of them could answer though, arrived at the banquet and Sam managed to slip away from Jodie's grasp.

* * *

Joe nervously scanned the room for any sign of Joleena. Knowing his girlfriend, intentionally or unintentionally, she would be the center of attention. There was a slight commotion and Joe's search was drawn towards one of the banquet tables that seemed to have slightly more people than the other tables. To no surprise of his, Joleena was at that table surrounded people and looking stunningly beautiful. Joe immediately steered Cleopatra away from that table.

"Hey, lets go sit over here." Joe said grabbing her armed and pulling her in the opposite direction. "You know, away from the big crowd."

"Oh, don't be absurd." Cleopatra rolled her eyes and pulled him back over to the central banquet tables. "I'm the princess, I know how to deal with the big crowds. Besides, I think I see an old friend of mine."

"Really?" Joe felt a bead of sweat roll down his back. "That's just great."

"Princess Joleena?" Cleopatra asked happily standing behind her.

"Cleopatra?" Joleena stood up and embraced her tightly. "Oh my gosh! It's so good to finally meet you."

Joleena then glanced over Cleo's shoulder at Joe. He smiled nervously at her and she smirked a bit at him.

"Cleo," She said turning her attention back at her friend. "This is my friend San-Li."

"Ah yes," Cleopatra nodded at San-Li who was sullenly drinking a glass of wine. She glanced up at Cleopatra and gave a small bow.

Cleo turned to Joleena and whispered in an undertone. "She's the the dark, sarcastic one, right?"

"You got that right." Joleena chuckled. "And this is my, um... friend, Fina."

Fina, still in the form of a white lioness, was laying next to Joleena while two children played on her back and Anna fed her scraps of meat. When Joleena mentioned her name she looked up and yawned.

Cleo laughed and leaned towards Joleena again. "And she's the anamorphic one, right? And the healer?"

Joleena nodded and the two girls began talking like they were old friends. Joe carefully inched away from them and went to find Jodie to make sure that she at least stayed away from his girlfriend.

* * *

San-Li tuned out Joleena and Cleopatra's drabble scanned the banquet hall. She was started to get a little drunk which was new for her. Usually normal alcohol wasn't enough to do anything because of her special blood, but perhaps because the wine wasn't process like it was back home it was probably stronger. She didn't really care though. Nothing really mattered to her anymore.

She spotted him just then, flirting with someone. Even though he was bad at it she could tell that was what he was doing because of the way the girl was standing. She laughed and constantly touched Sam's shoulder and chest which is exactly how San-Li flirted with guys. San-Li felt tears well up in her eyes. She brushed them away and got up from the table abruptly.

"Hey, where are you going?" Joleena asked her.

"For a walk." San-Li mumbled.

She walked around aimlessly for a while before finding herself out on a balcony. She stared up at the night sky and felt tears roll freely down her face. When she heard footsteps behind her she didn't even turn around. He leaned on the balcony beside her, but didn't touch her or say a single word to her. She finally broke the silence.

"Why did you even bother coming up here?" She asked. "You've already made it clear that its over between us."

Sam sighed. "It's not that I wanted it to be."

"Oh, really?" San-Li scoffed. "Because it seems to me that you were never too eager to fix things between us in the first place."

"What?" He stared at her in shock. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?" she looked at him angrily. "All I did was kiss Fred. One time! You would think that a couple who's been together as we have, and have been through as much as we have, wouldn't let something as stupid as one kiss wouldn't ruin all of it!"

"Well maybe if one of them hadn't kissed the other's _best friend _then it wouldn't have!" he retorted equally angry.

"Oh would you come off it!? It's not the fact that I kissed your best friend that makes you angry, it's the fact that I'm not the perfect, little girlfriend that you've fantasized about!"

Sam's glare dissolved until he just looked sad. "Actually, you're right. And you're wrong. It isn't the fact that you kissed my best friend. It's the fact that it was Fred that hurts me the most. But I've never thought you were perfect, and that's what I loved about you."

San-Li blinked at him uncomprehendingly. "What?"

"If it had been any other guy, if it had been Joe, then it would have been different." Sam chuckled humorlessly. "Hell, if you had slept with some other guy I would have forgiven you instantly."

"W-what? Then why are you-"

Sam sighed and stared at the sky. "When I was young I was always proud of the fact that I was smart. Joe and I first became friends because he was so interested in all of the history facts I knew about Harry Houdini. When Fred came back from summer vacation I thought Joe was going to ditch me for his original best friend...but he didn't. We became...a trio."

Sam glanced at her and smiled sadly. "Things changed though when I started school up again that fall. Everyone liked Fred so much better than me. Everyone wanted to be friends with Fred, hang out with Fred. Sure, I was probably going to be 10 times as likely to go to college and end up richer than Fred, but back then it didn't matter. All I wanted was to be cool like Fred and have a ton of friends."

"So I kind of went overboard with the whole smart-guy thing and became the super nerd that you see before you today." He moved toward her and caressed her cheek, but his eyes remained cold and hard. "But then you came. From the first I could tell that you two were attracted to each other and I thought that just like always you would prefer him to me because he was cooler and more adventurous. But you didn't. You choose me _because _I was uncool, _because _I was a nerd. I thought that you loved me for me! And I felt different around you because of that. I felt like I could be amazing by just being me. But...then you kissed Fred and I felt..."

"That I was like everyone else." San-Li finished for him.

Sam nodded and she smiled. "But I'm not. I still think you're amazing. Even if you break up with me for good I will always think that you are the most amazing guy I've ever met."

The cold, hard look in Sam's eyes vanished and he smiled at her. He took a step towards her and wrapped his arms around her. San-Li was surprised but wrapped her arms around him eagerly.

"I've told you a hundred times that I love you." He whispered in her ear. "Now if you really mean what you said then I want you to tell me the same thing."

San-Li chuckled and drew back a bit to look at him. "Really? Is that what you're going for. The big "L" word?"

"Yeah." Sam leaned his forehead against hers. "I know, you'll just deny it later, but this may be the only chance I get to get you to say it. Now say it please."

San-Li chuckled and started to say it, but before she could say love Sam pressed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. So she told him she loved him in her head over and over again before giving into the kiss with all her heart and soul.


	5. Chapter 5

Tryphaena entered the banquet hall and glared around her. Within seconds her court, formerly her father's court, crowded around her to praise her beauty , her intelligence, so forth. She smiled. Soon enough it would be _she _ruling all of Egypt instead of her idiotic, senseless,...

"Tryphaena!" A familiarly irritating voice piped beside her.

She turned and saw her younger sister Bernice beside her. She struggled not to smile. Out of her entire family, despite how annoying she was sometimes, Bernice was the only one she truly liked.

"Tryphaena," Bernice said again smiling broadly. "Enjoying the party?"

"It isn't a party, it's a banquet."

Bernice rolled her eyes, something Tryphaena would have beheaded anyone else for doing. "Oh stop being so serious and have some fun."

Tryphaena was about to respond when a messenger ran up to her breathlessly and handed her a note. She read it and scanned the room quickly. A flicker of gold caught her eye and she swore under her breath.

"Bernice!" She snapped. "What is little Cleo doing with _that _girl?"

"Don't you remember, Tryphie?" Bernice blinked in confusion. "That's princess Joleena, my new friend. Why? What's wrong?"

Across the room Joleena looked up and met Tryphaena's glare. She gave her a small smile and raised her wine glass in a salute and nodded at her. Cleopatra also noticed her glare, but instead of smiling at her like the princess did, she touched her shoulder and whispered urgently in her ear. Joleena only laughed and Tryphaena stormed out of the room.

* * *

"Joleena I'm serious!" Cleopatra whispered urgently. "Tryphaena is very dangerous. It is not wise to toy with her. Especially with my father the pharaoh absent."

"She's right you know." Sam said. "I've read some things about Tryphaena and she really is dangerous."

"Oh I know," Joleena said with a small smirk.

Her eyes then narrowed a bit when she saw Tryphaena suddenly storm out of the room. She gave San-Li a quick nod who pecked Sam on the cheek and disappeared into the crowd.

"So what did you read about Tryphaena?" Anna whispered to Sam.

"Well, there's no concrete evidence," Sam whispered back. "But many historians believed that Tryphaena tried to take over Egypt after the pharaoh, Ptolemy XII, fled for his life for short time. They also say that she tried to kill Cleopatra because she was her father's favorite."

"Trust me, Cleo," Joleena was saying. "I know what's it's like to have dangerous relatives. It's sort of the reason why I came here. You see..."

* * *

"Quit laughing. It isn't funny!" Joe said in frustration.

"I just don't get what you're so worried about." Jodie rolled her eyes. "What could possibly happen if I meet your girlfriend? I didn't even know that you had a girlfriend."

"Look, I don't know. I just... ," Joe sighed in exasperation. "I just don't want anything to be needlessly awkward between us and meeting you just might do that."

"Oh really? How so?"

"Well... what if it turns put she isn't your great grandmother? The relationship could end up over before it's supposed to!"

"And what if it turns out she is my great grandmother?"

"Then she might feel like she _has_ to be with me. And I definitely don't want that."

Jodie's smirk softened a bit and she looked around the room. "Which one is she?"

"She's..." Joe sighed reluctantly and rubbed the back of his neck. "She's the girl sitting next to Sam."

"Her!?" Jodie's jaw dropped and she turned to Joe in shock. "_That _girl is _your _girlfriend!?"

"So?" Joe crossed his arms offended. "What's so shocking about that?"

"I admit your not as puny as as you used to be, but that girl is still waaaay out of your league. I definitely have to meet her now!"

"Jodie no!"

"Oh, relax. I'll just tell her that we're both warpers who meet during a warp or whatever."

Without another word Jodie turned around and walked over to where the others were sitting.

"Hey, Cleo." She said sitting next to Cleopatra.

"Jodie," She smiled at her and seemed relieved. "I'd like you to meet my friend Joleena. We use to write letters to each other when we were younger."

"Hi," Jodie grinned. "Joe's been telling me about you."

"Joe?" Joleena's eyebrow rose. "You two know each other?"

"Well... sorta..." Joe said nervously.

"We warp together sometimes." Jodie said nonchalantly. "Poor Joe never really knows what he's doing."

"And you do?" Joleena's tone was pleasant but Joe detected the edge of steel in her voice. Unfortunately Jodie didn't.

"Well actually I'm a level 4 warper and I've been practicing magic since I was five." She said a bit smugly.

When Joe saw that Joleena was about to respond he quickly fed her a tart. He made a quick excuse about knowing how much she loved them and when she laughed and playfully pushed him away Cleo gave them a weird look.

"You act strangely familiar with your servant, Joleena." Cleo remarked mildly.

"Oh well," Joleena gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "His family has long served my family."

Jodie shot Joe a look and shook his head ever so slightly.

"Better be careful, Joleena." Cleopatra said a bit coldly. "One should never become too familiar with commoners, especially when one is close to the throne. You of all people should know this."

Joleena smirked coldly as well. "Yes I know."

* * *

"Why did you not tell me this sooner?" Tryphaena said coldly angry. "Are you as big as a fool as I thought?"

Mad Jack started angrily, indignant at the remark. "I- I- I came prepared!"

He regained his composure with some difficulty and handed her a steal box with several air holes in the top and a small, latched door in the front.

"I have taken the liberty to fetch you these in order to aid your, I mean _our_, endeavors." He added under his breath. "Not that you'd be grateful."

He then smirked and wagged his fingers at her warningly at her when she tried to open the latch.

"Uh, uh, uh. I wouldn't open that yet if I were you." He said smoothly. "We wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for my nephew's little...girlfriend."

**A/N- You know, I'm actually thinking about rewriting this story. Let me know what you might think.**


	6. Chapter 6

Joleena sighed and removed the last pieces of jewelry from her hair. "Man I hate that pretentious little b-"

"But I thought you and Cleopatra were friends." Anna asked changing into a sleeping dress.

Her, Joleena, and Fina were getting ready for bed in the master bedroom while the boys changed in the front room. San-Li had yet to return.

Joleena smiled at Anna fondly. "Not exactly. You see, I when I first learned about my princess-hood and the trouble that Syrania was in, I started researching and keeping correspondences with historical monarchs and such."

"But how? I didn't know you can time travel too."

"I can't," Joleena yawned and rubbed the top of Fina's head. "Well, not really. There's this crystal I use that can send and receive messages to any time in the form of whatever means of communication that's used at the time. It can only work with very small, light objects like a single letter though."

"That's so cool." Anna practically gushed. "Do you think that maybe I could-"

"Don't even ask." A voice said suddenly from the balcony.

Anna jumped and turned around to see San-Li coming in through the window. She didn't have anything personal against San-Li, it was just that there was something about her that she just didn't like. Joleena though smiled at her completely at ease.

"Anything to report?" She asked.

"Pfft. No." San-Li said completely annoyed. "All I know is that she's working with someone who she's really trying to keep a secret. I followed her all the way under the palace before she disappeared behind a large stone door. It was too risky to follow her."

"Hmm." Anna turned away and mumbled under her breath. "And I thought you were supposed to be the ultimate ninja."

Almost immediately she felt a a cold blade against her throat. She took a shallow breath and felt her heart pound in fear. She heard San-Li whisper directly into her ear.

"_You wanna say that again little girl_?"

"San-Li!" Joleena said sharply.

Anna felt the slightest pressure on her neck before San-Li slowly moved away.

"I'm going to go say goodnight to Sam." She said quietly before leaving.

Anna watched her leave and didn't realize she was shaking until Joleena wrapped her arms around her and held her like she was a baby.

"She didn't mean it." Joleena said quietly yet firmly. "She would never actually hurt you."

* * *

Sam looked up when he heard Joleena's door open and close. It was San-Li like he was hoping it was, but she had a strange look on her face, almost like she was scared of something. Before Sam could ask anything, she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room.

"W-where are we going?" He asked nervously.

"Somewhere."

"Oh. Okay."

They walked around almost aimlessly until they suddenly found themselves outside in a courtyard. She let go of his arm and stood there staring at the night sky. Sam stood there feeling a bit awkward. His dramatic reconciliation with San-Li left him feeling emotionally drained and a bit unsure of himself. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts though that he didn't even realize that San-Li was being unnaturally quiet.

"Hey," he said quietly. "You okay?"

San-Li was quiet a minute before answering. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"You sure?" he gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you're shaking!"

The next thing he knew her head was buried in his chest and she was shaking so much that he was afraid that she might actually hurt herself.

"W-w-what is it? What's wrong?" He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Talk to me please!"

"It's nothing." She mumbled, her voice surprisingly clear of sobs. "I just haven't been feeling like myself lately."

"Oh." Sam said doubtfully.

He then kept holding her until she slowly stopped shaking and gently pulled away from him.

"Sorry." She whispered. "Sorry."

She then started to walk away from him until on an impulse Sam stopped her by grabbing her arm. At first he thought that she was going to pull away from him, but she let him hold her hand and they walked back together.

Sam wasn't sure what was going on with San-Li, but he hoped that whatever she was going through would be okay. He gripped her hand a little tighter and she gently bumped into him.

"Look," she whispered as they got closer to the curtain that marked the entrance to the room. "Could you sorta not mention what happened to anyone?"

Sam sighed reluctantly and nodded. "Okay."

* * *

San-Li gave Sam a final peck on the cheek and quietly tried to sneak into the room she shared with Joleena, Fina, and the girl. Instantly she froze. The slightest footfall was enough to set her on edge and pull out a few of her blades. She glanced back at Sam who was already asleep, took a breath, and threw open the door. The adder, poised to strike Joleena who was still asleep, turned towards San-Li and hissed. Without a second's hesitation San-Li let fly three blades which flew through the air and pinned the snake to the wall. Joleena woke up with a gasp and Anna screamed as San-Li leaped out of the window.

Just as she suspected, there was a walkway under the window's balcony and on it was a figure running away from her. This time she pulled out a special blade, one so small and narrow that it was almost more like a needle than a blade, and took careful aim. It struck the figure at the base of the neck an inch away from the spine and the figure instantly crumpled, completely paralyzed.

San-Li walked up behind the figure out of breath. Her head was pounding and the edges of her vision was starting to turn red. She swore under her breath and clutched her chest. _Not now, please not now._ She pleaded silently. She looked down at the prone figure and could see that it was a servant or a bodyguard. Even though he could barely move his muscles the man pleaded with San-Li through his eyes, probably begging for his life.

"Don't worry about it dude," San-Li mumbled. "I ain't gonna kill you."

San-Li gave a sharp cry of pain and suddenly her vision was tinted red. "Yet."

**A/N- Uh-Oh! What's going on with San-Li? Is she possessed? Or is this her true nature coming through?**


	7. Chapter 7

Joleena stood staring at the snake pinned to the wall and bit her thumbnail. Joe stood behind her and wished that he could put his arms around her, but Cleopatra was there and he didn't want her to be more suspicious than she already was.

"If it wasn't for my dear Arrow," Cleopatra said petting her pet leopard. "I would have been killed by the adder that was in _my _room. I understand why you might still feel anxious."

"You're used to this aren't you?" Joleena said quietly. "Your life constantly being in danger."

"Yes." Cleopatra sighed sadly. "My sister holds no great love for me. To her, I am but a small obstacle on her path towards the throne. No one but she would plant one of the most deadliest creatures in my bedroom."

"Your own sister put a deadly snake in your bedroom?" Fred asked in shock. "Then that must mean she put a snake in Joleena's room too right?"

"Most likely she sent a servant to do her doing."

"But what I don't understand," Joe interrupted angrily. "Is how they could have gotten in to Joleena's room in the first place without us hearing them!"

Suddenly, Jodie, Anna, Cleopatra, and Sam screamed as a body was flung through the window. With a grunt San-Li climbed in after him.

"Relax, relax," San-Li mumbled. "He's just paralyzed. Caught him running on the walkway under the window."

"That's gotta be how he got in." Sam said. "But why would Tryphaena target Joleena as well as Cleopatra? She can't possibly see Joleena as a threat can she?"

"Let's just ask this guy." San-Li bent down towards the man and pulled a small blade from the back of his neck.

Instantly the man started to gasp and struggled to stand up. As soon as he caught sight of San-Li, let out a cry of fear and threw himself at Cleopatra's feet. He began to plead with her, babbling about forgiveness and begging her to spare his life and protect him from San-Li. Cleopatra stared coldly at him for a moment before turning her head coldly and signaling one of the body guards waiting by the door.

"Wait." Joleena stood as the guard started to drag the man out. "I wish to speak to him."

"Joleena, what are you doing?" Cleopatra hissed. "He's working for my sister and just tried to kill us! He deserves death, not an audience."

Joleena gave Cleopatra a look. "Everyone deserves an audience."

She knelt down by the man and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Please, why would Tryphaena try to kill me? What is she planning?"

The man gulped and looked around anxiously before answering. "Th-there is a man, an evil man, he is in possession of a rare and legendary artifact that Princess Tryphaena wants for her own. They made a deal, if she kills you then he will deliver to her the artifact."

"Um," Joe swallowed nervously. "Exactly what artifact does this man have?"

"It is called the _Golden Lotus_. I do not know what it does, but it is said to be very powerful."

"Thank you." Joleena softly laid a hand on his cheek and he melted. Cleopatra however scowled and waved for the guard to take the man away.

"Joleena," Cleopatra's tone became serious and everyone looked at her in surprise. "I think its time that you and I had a talk."

Joleena gave Cleopatra a surprised look and glanced at Joe. He stared at her blankly and then smiled as that girl Jodie whispered something in his ear. Joleena felt her stomach tighten and looked away.

"Joleena." Cleopatra repeated a little more sharply.

Raising an eyebrow at Cleo's tone, Joleena gestured the overs to leave the room.

"Okay," She said when everyone left. She sat on the bed and crossed her arms. "What is it?"

"You came to me for advice about how to deal with your situation, but I think it is obvious that you need my advice on other matters."

"Excuse me?"

"You need to act more like royalty. Set yourself apart from those who are beneath you, don't throw yourself amongst them! How can you expect to be respected as a queen if you cannot even act like a proper princess?"

Joleena leapt off of the bed angrily and stood inches from Cleopatra. "Watch what you say about those I keep close to me."

Cleopatra took a step back but did not back down. "You told me that your father left the throne and Syrania fell into the hands of evil as a result of his absence. Yes you had saved the kingdom from ultimate destruction, but that does not prove that you are fit to lead."

Joleena's eyes flashed and she felt her nails dig into her palm. She took a few shaky breaths to calm herself down and let the anger slowly drain away from her. "I believe that we have nothing more to say to each other."

Cleopatra gave a sigh if her own and headed towards the door. Before she opened it though, she turned and gave Joleena one last look. "I seriously hope you'll consider my words."

"Don't count on it." Joleena replied coldly.

Cleopatra gave another sad sigh and opened the door. Jodie jumped off of the couch where she had been sitting between Joe and Anna. She asked Cleopatra what was wrong, but when she didn't answer, she looked at Joe with a shrug. Joe shrugged as well and made a gesture for her to follow. When he started to turn towards her though, Joleena promptly stood up and shut the door.

* * *

"WHAT!?" Tryphaena shrieked angrily causing several servants to back away hastily in terror.

"It is true, your Highness." a servant bowed low to her. "Both asps were killed before they could strike either girl."

Tryphaena's face turned magenta and she turned towards the hooded man next to her.

"How can you possibly blame me for this?" the man cried some of his fear come through his high pitched voice. "You were the one who told me that the asp was deadly and no one escaped its poisonous bite!"

Tryphaena raised an eyebrow at this and her face formed a sly look. "Perhaps if you hand over that artifact now..."

"Oh, no no no." the man shook his head. "The deal was you kill Joleena and get my nephew's book from her and only then will I hand over this golden flower that you treasure for some reason."

"You know mean, you don't-" Tryphaena gave a look of surprise and started chuckling, a sound that made the servants shudder. "You mean to tell me that you possess a powerful object and do not know what it does?"

The man scowled. "All I know is that its power cannot be utilized by my gender, therefore making useless to me."

"Give it to me," Tryphaena gave a poisonous smile. "And I can guarantee that I'll get that book for you."


End file.
